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Soldiers role play dangers of Iraq

FORT STEWART - As the platoon entered the fictional city of Tal Abad Monday, one soldier made the mistake of pointing his M-16 at the approaching mayor.

"America bad," said Spc. David Makler, who portrayed an insulted mayor and stormed back to his house.

That exchange would complicate the mission for platoon leader 2nd Lt. Andrew Monroe, who later had to apologize for his soldier's action as he tried to convince the mayor to turn over a known bomb-maker in the city.

Here in the woods of Fort Stewart, such tensions are part of an exercise for the 550 soldiers of the 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry. They are training as platoon-size units for the first time in anticipation of a possible combat tour later this year.

The challenge now is preparing soldiers for the complexities and dangers that will face them in Iraq, said Lt. Col. Clifford Wheeler, commander of the 5-7.

"What I told these guys was if you're going to make mistakes, you need to make them right now," he said. "The reality hasn't hit them yet. Until you're looking at a couple of dead guys, it really doesn't hit you."

In Tal Abad, soldiers who've already completed their training role-play Iraqis to make the training as realistic as possible. They don traditional Sunni Muslim garb, speak Arabic and welcome newcomers with a kiss on each cheek to acclimate soldiers to Iraqi customs.

Because of turnover, about 60 percent of the squadron's soldiers have no combat experience.

So Iraq veterans such as Makler are passing on what they know to new soldiers.

"In Iraq, I was able to see a lot of the negotiating going on," he said. "I'm trying to take whatever I got from that and roll it over into this. If you come into a town with guns blazing, the town leaders aren't going to like that."

Charlie Troop commander Capt. Matthew Marston explained some of the idiosyncrasies of Arabic culture to 1st Platoon soldiers. Offending Iraqi leaders or using unnecessary force can backfire, he said.

"That's a good way to burn your bridges and it takes a lot to build that back up," he said. "There's no second chance to make a first impression."

Soldiers also trained to react to roadside bombs.

During one exercise, some made the mistake of leaving their armored vehicles to clear a road when an explosive, simulated by a smoke bomb, went off.

Command Sgt. Maj. William Transue, 41, who has seen friends killed by roadside bombs during his two tours in Iraq, ran to the site to inform several soldiers they were dead.